The Campaign

Our idea was to demonstrate that there is more that unites us than divides us.
To prove this, we developed an experiment together with Dr. Govinda Clayton, a conflict resolution specialist, that would challenge two strangers with polarizing views to come together, discuss their differences, and hopefully find some mutual understanding.
With an experiment that was entirely unrehearsed, unscripted and using real people, not actors, you never know what the result will be. Yet, it goes to prove that even the most divided people can find common ground. The act of having a conversation, creating dialogue and listening to the other side can open your mind and open your world – we just have to take that first step.

Creative Execution

The 4.5-minute film was launched organically online in three versions optimised for each individual social platform. It was boosted through a PR push that seeded the film to national newspapers and online publications. This created momentum, but once people started sharing naturally (including unpaid celebrity endorsers) the film really took off. Paid media kicked in 5 days later to maintain momentum. This has been supported by our partnership with the Huffington Post that ensured a steady stream of content about common ground.
Further, online banners drove to our website where you could sign up to a human library event that gives you the chance to have a conversation with someone you might not have an opportunity to meet in everyday life (e.g. a refugee). This takes an online activation and gives you the chance to take real action – a further opportunity to open your world.

Results

With social content principles advising towards short form edits, our 4.5 minute film seems to have broken all the rules.
The film has been viewed a total of 17.7 million times, 13.6 million organically, with millions more views on fan and media channels. It has generated a huge volume of conversation - 625+ articles published, made international news coverage, became a trending topic on Twitter, made it to the front page of Reddit, was the number 1 ad on Youtube for April, created reaction videos online, and it has even spawned a couple of parodies too.
In total it has generated 324,000 engagements, 531,000 shares and as the film travels the world, with a reach of 2 billion, so does our message of openness.

Sometimes you don’t need a direct call to action to create a reaction that is felt worldwide.
In a divided Britain, post-Brexit, Heineken’s Worlds Apart campaign didn’t seek to tell people what to do and how to act. We simply showed what can happen when you open up and have a conversation with people who think and feel differently to you. That simple thought was enough to spark its own conversations and debate in the UK and beyond.
It shows that a powerful idea rooted in a deep insight, and delivered at a timely moment can have a global impact.

For many, shock followed Brexit. Yet Brexit was simply a consequence of something deeper. Our research showed open conversation had become suppressed (amplified by online echo-chambers). People weren’t talking to people with different opinions, and if they were, the online conversation was so toxic it fueled the problem.
Our insight was that despite our differences we can always find something that connects us. You may not hold the same views, but the choice is either to ignore each other or engage and find a better understanding on both sides. The simple act of sitting down and having a conversation (perhaps over a beer) can be the first step to finding common ground.
The strategy was simple, as brand that has always stood for openness, we would facilitate conversation between even the most divided of people, and subsequently build meaning for our tagline - Open Your World.